Balloon Perpetrators, to the Stand!
Kazakhstan, Politics and SocietyNo Comment
Translation of neweurasia’s post (RUS).
Yesterday, the specialized Almaty district administrative court held a hearing for Roslana Taukina, who heads the human rights organization “Journalists in Peril.” She is being charged with article 373, section 3 of the Administrative Code for taking part in a flash mob on 6 January to support her colleagues, who have been imprisoned for their professional activities.
“On Wednesday, the police came to my house and handed me a document, stating that I had committed an administrative crime by launching balloons. The document quotes verbatim what I said at the time, and notes that [on 15 July last year] I was charged for participating in a demonstration outside the National Press Club. It was a trial in absentia, and I only found out about it after the verdict had been read. Then they invited me to the regional Interior Ministry office to acquaint myself with the case being brought against me.
“There, I met Vladimir Kozlov, leader of the unregistered “Alga!” party, and Raushan Yesergepova, wife of the imprisoned editor-in-chief of the “Alma-Ata Info” newspaper. They are also being tried for taking part in the balloon protest. I actually learned a new piece of my own biography while reading the case: it turns out I’ve managed to spend 10 days in jail for hooliganism. First of all, my name in the document is spelled incorrectly, and second of all, I never spent 10 days in jail.”
Roslana Taukina’s hearing was rescheduled for 26 January due to issues with her health.
By Nadezhda Pliaskina, Almaty.
Source: Vremia.
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